Ovation Greets ‘Jeffrey’
by Jon Vater
Who is Jeffrey and why is he creating such a stir? He’s the title character in Paul Rudnick’s hilarious, yet touching, comedy about gay life in the age of AIDS and safe sex. As presented in the play “Jeffrey”, he’s an attractive, aspiring actor (and waiter, of course) who finds it difficult to continue gay dating under the spectre of the AIDS epidemic. Uncertainty, fear and despondence have led him to give up sex altogether. But what happens when he finally meets Mr. Right...a handsome, sensitive, caring man who has everything...including HIV-positive status?
That is the central question in Rudnick’s rollicking, yet sensitive play. Rudnick (a noted writer who’s juggled plays, novels, a monthly column in Premiere magazine and screenplays like Addams Family Values and In and Out) has crafted a work containing outrageous humor countered with biting reflection on the world around him. Jeffrey muddles through his everyday life, but in the course of the play, entertains fanciful vignettes enacted by an ensemble of versatile actors. The slightest event in Jeffrey’s life can trigger a hilarious scenario in which anyone from an overzealous game show host to Mother Teresa can appear!
This is Ovation Theatre Company’s second play by Rudnick, the first being I Hate Hamlet in 1999 which set an attendance record for the group and left audiences holding their sides from laughter.
The cast includes Michael Monks who recently starred in Avow to great acclaim and OTC veteran Joe Hornbaker who was featured in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow. Making her Ovation debut is Christine Dye who recently picked up a Cincinnati Entertainment Award for her tour-de-force work as Shirley Valentine.
Ovation Theatre Company hopes you will join us for this sometimes-thoughtful, sometimes-hysterical glimpse into the world of Jeffrey.
Stollenwerk Aims for Laughs
by Jon Vater
Along With the Reality, Jeffrey director Joe Stollenwerk appreciates the knack that playwright Paul Rudnick has for creating lead characters that are very funny but still very real. He notes that Rudnick “captures the humor of everyday life, or of everyday people in extraordinary situations, and he mixes in pathos, drama and even tragedy with expert skill.” This adds up to a play that is “sensitive, thought-provoking, and, of course, humorous.” He notes, “So much of the play is funny and some of the very serious moments seemingly come out of nowhere; which is precisely what happens in real life.”
Though the play was first presented in 1992 and Stollenwerk is ostensibly setting it in that time, this production will not have a sharply detailed recreation of that period. He will instead “strive for a more classic, romantic, Gershwin-esque view of the times and New York City.” He adds, “The play has a timeless quality to it. However, it takes place in a very specific moment in time near the end of the Reagan/Bush years.” He points out that this was prior to Tom Hanks winning an Oscar for his role as an AIDS patient in Philadelphia or films like HBO’s And the Band Played On. In other words, it was before more than a handful of celebrities had come out or gay culture began to permeate the mainstream.
When asked if the play’s audience can move beyond a strictly gay one, he had this to say. “I think straight audiences can relate to Jeffrey the same way gay audiences relate to Friends or Sleepless in Seattle. I mean, Will & Grace has been a hit show for years and gay people can’t be the only ones watching. Who doesn’t like to spend two hours in the theater laughing a lot and rooting for a couple of star-crossed lovers who seem to be made for each other?”
Stollenwerk does point out that this isn’t a profound, issue-driven drama such as Angels in America. It may very well make people think, but the overall thrust of the play is in its humorous approach to a sometimes dire situation. Also, he notes, “There is so little theatre in this town that presents gay characters interacting with each other and that’s something we’ve tried to remedy in the last year or so. But the play is also tremendously accessible to straight people.”
Cincinnati has occasionally been the center of controversy or protest when certain works are produced. When queried about this and the chances of Jeffrey causing any ripples, Stollenwerk noted, “There was so much hubbub over Know Theatre’s production of Corpus Christi, but I think that had more to do with religion than sexuality in and of itself. When we did Avow last summer, we had a wonderful response from the audience and not one iota of protestation, despite the fact that the play dealt with gay marriage and adoption.” While OTC’s Jeffrey is not a Cincinnati premiere, it has been seven years since it’s last presentation. Stollenwerk adds, “I think Cincinnati has progressed a lot in that time - the movement to appeal Article 12 and last year’s hate crime ordinance are prime examples - and I think Cincinnati needs a play like Jeffrey.”
‘Pageant’ Was the Best Ever
by Joe Stollenwerk
When Ovation selected The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, we hoped it would sell well, and we took a chance on adding two additional performances. Nothing could have prepared us, though, for the onslaught of ticket sales the show produced! Most shows were sold out days ahead of time, and even after we added an additional matinee performance, we still sold every single ticket to the nine-performance run of the show, and had to turn away people who we just could not fit in the theatre. I will never forget arriving at the theatre at 6:30 on "Pay What You Can Preview" night, and there were already some thirty people waiting outside for a show that began at 8:00. Aside from being a box office grand slam, Pageant was an artistic success as well. Director Dennis Murphy got the most out of the 27-member cast--perhaps the largest ever in the Fifth Third Bank Theater--from the heavenly singing of the Angel Choir to the energetic performances of the Herdmans and the exasperated adults who tried to stave off the inevitable chaos. The audiences, who ranged from families out for the first event of the holiday season to Generation Xers who had read the book in school, responded with great enthusiasm to the humor of the play as well as its touching message. With this production, Ovation welcomed a number of new actors and designers to its family, including lighting designer David Zlatic, music director and organist Linda Abbott, and light board operator Diana Bentley, as well as Mandy Volpenhein, who played Mrs. Armstrong on stage, and who will be heading up Ovation's day-long theatre workshop for children in June (for more information, visit later this Spring). Ovation also had the pleasure of reaching a new audience, hopefully igniting a love of theatre among some of its youngest members.
Thank You, to OTC Helpers
Quentin Crisp once said, "You should never clean where you live, because after four years, it doesn't get any dirtier." That saying doesn't apply to where you store your theatrical costumes, sets, and props, however! Thanks to Jessica Greye Pitcairn, Dennis Murphy, Joe Stollenwerk, and Tim & Lisa Breithaupt, who cleaned and organized Ovation's costume storage space in December. And a big thank you to Patrick Downey, Barbara Karol, Doug Hull, and Joe Stollenwerk for helping out with Phase One of cleaning up Ovation's warehouse space.